This Saturday, June 23 marks the all day music affair that is the Moon Block Party in Pomona!
I’ve had the honor of playing one of the Moon Block Party concert series myself with my Starlight Band (at the Desert Daze fest in Desert Hot Springs) and can only say that festival-mastermind Phil Pirrone knows how to make one magical event.
Just look at all the space, eyes, and tye-dye in the flyer below! AND it’s free and all ages! I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Wizard of Oz himself.
Hi Phil! How are you? Can you talk about the line-up and what you have cooking for Moon Block Party Pomona?
I’m doing well. Thanks.
Last year’s event had what I like to call the best bands you’ve never heard of, but this year, we have some pretty great bands that you HAVE heard of! Fool’s Gold, The Entrance Band, Sleepy Sun, Crystal Antlers, Allah-Las, Electric Flower Group and more.
Fool’s Gold, fresh off the road with Red Hot Chili Peppers are tighter than ever. Sleepy Sun just finished a new record with Dave Catching (Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age). Electric Flower Group is a new band featuring Imaad Wasif and Secret Machine’s drummer, Josh Garza. I’m pretty excited for all 35 bands, which also includes Matt Baldwin, ex-Zwan/A Perfect Circle/current Entrance Band bassist Paz Lenchantin’s debut solo performance, Death Hymn Number 9, Cosmonauts, and my favorite band, Dahga Bloom.
Can you give potential visitors what they can expect from the festival?
Something else.
Doin it.
How did the Desert Daze festival you recently orchestrated in Desert Hot Springs treat you?
Desert Daze was psychedelic bootcamp, an excursion, a complete experience. 22 hour days (for the crew and myself), desert winds, scorching heat, pouring rain, amazing bands and artists, wouldn’t change a thing about it.
What does it take to orchestrate an 11 day music festival? A computer to write and reply to literally thousands of emails a month, very thick skin, amazing bands, and an amazing crew.
What were your favorite moments of the fest?
Every moment. All the highs and all the lows. The work and the party. To be honest, being able to play a few sets myself over the week was the only thing that kept me sane. Some of the most cathartic performances of my life.
So, I read that you play in an LA based psych-rock duo, JUJU. Can you talk a bit about your band?
We’re a 2 piece band. Andrew from Incan Abraham on drums. Myself on guitar, bass, and vocals. I do live looping. We build each song into a mountain and then climb it and then the mountain crumbles into a million beams of light and we’re left levitating in space. I’ve never been able to say that I’m in my favorite band, but I can say that now. I fucking love jamming with Andrew.
You and your collective of artists and musicians regularly also present a series of events under the Moon Block Party moniker. Can you talk about what you have going on?
We produce several festivals a year including Moon Block Party Pomona, Desert Daze, Beyond The Witching Hour (last year in LA), and a few others. Every year we add another one to the calendar. 5 year plan! Moon Block World Tour.
Where did the idea for the Moon Block Party series come from?
Good friends and musicians being ready to do something instead of waiting for it to happen.
When did the series start, and how did you first get involved in putting on the Moon Block Party series?
It all started in Pomona. But, I’ve been on the road since I was 16. Always loved festivals. At 21, started doing my own festivals in Chino and LA. Took about 7 years to hit a rhythm/learn what NOT to do. Moved out of LA, to Pomona, decided to do a festival, didn’t want to call it a festival, decided to call it a block party… And that’s what Moon Block Party Pomona is. It’s a literal block party.
What artists do you typically like to book for the events?
Whether they are on lap tops or a didgeridoo, if it’s honest, it has a place at Moon Block Party. How do you measure honest music? I don’t know… it seems that you just know when someones really giving it, speaking from the heart. And that’s what we feel is important and needs to be shared.
What would you say is the Moon Block Party ethos- what’s your philosophy behind creating events?
Each event is handbuilt, curated, organized, produced, and operated by musicians and artists who care deeply about live music and those who do it. It’s like new artist development. A collaborative platform where individuals can come together to create something greater and louder than the sum of its parts.
We want to create environments where possibilities in our own minds become less limited. Where new friendships and ideas can be born. To gather and enliven the many through honest through provoking music and innovative works of art. We don’t just want patrons or attendees, we want folks to embed themselves in the experience. People don’t just come to Moon Block Party, they are the Moon Block Party.
Advice for anyone who wants to put on events?
Only do it if you really want to put your heart and soul into it. There’s enough sanitized cheese in the world already.
Find out more about Phil Pirrone’s Moon Block Series here.
